Marriott Bonvoy 85K Free Night Certificate Redemptions in Latin America
Marriott’s 85K Free Night Certificates is the highest level of Free Night Certificate in the Marriott Bonvoy program, which can be earned through the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card and the Chase Ritz-Carlton Card with the annual fees of $650 and $450 respectively.
Marriott still secretly assign category to their hotels, and with this information, we can infer the potential of Marriott’s free night certificates with topups. Here’s the secret chart:
| Category | Minimum/Night | Maximum/Night |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5,500 | 16,000 |
| 2 | 10,000 | 23,000 |
| 3 | 15,000 | 29,500 |
| 4 | 21,000 | 46,000 |
| 5 | 30,000 | 69,000 |
| 6 | 35,000 | 81,000 |
| 7 | 44,000 | 102,000 |
| 8A | 59,500 | 130,000 |
| 8B | 52,000 | 106,000 |
| 9A | 80,000 | 140,000 |
| 9B | 82,000 | 126,000 |
| 9C (StR/RC Maldives) | 70,000 | 164,000 |
| RC Reserve Zadun (Cat 11) | 131,000 | 212,000 |
| RC Reserve Dorado Beach (Cat 12) | 170,000 | 254,000 |
| Nujuma, RC Reserve (Cat 12) | 163,000 | 299,500 |
After studying the chart, I’m pleased to see that the 85K FNC is quite valuable. While not as valuable as Hilton Free Night Certificate, you can still redeem 85K FNC’s at really nice hotels, and they’re not as difficult to use like 50K FNC’s. Latin America offers plenty of options for all-inclusive resorts that could be booked with 85K FNC’s.
Due to the high-value nature of 85K FNC, I would only list hotels listed as Category 6 at minimum, and up to Category 9 which is the max Category an 85K FNC could be redeemed on hotels set at that Category. Countries excluded either mean that there’s no Marriott hotels there, or the max Category level found in the country is Category 5 or lower.
| Category | Points Range | 85K Cert Viability | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 35-81k/Night | Guaranteed without topups | Redeem during peak season, or if you can't find Cat 7 hotels at destination |
| 7 | 44-102k/Night | Guaranteed with topups for ~99% of Cat 7 hotels | The sweet spot category for 85K Cert. Try to aim for this! |
| 8 | 52-130k/Night | Good chances, but some of dates will be out of bounds | Redeem during low-mid season or plan trip around redemption |
| 9 | 80-140k/Night | Slightly harder, though the difficulty level could be similar to Cat 8 depending on the property | Plan trip around the redemption |
Category 7 is the sweet spot for 85K FNC redemption as the pricing during peak season is just below 100K points, and as long as you have the required Marriott points for top-up, then you’re pretty much guaranteed to redeem as long as award availability exists. So far, I only found 2 Category 7 hotels that’s out of bounds with 102K points max, and they’re Sheratons in Hawaii.
Understandably, there’s not as many Category 7 as Category 6 hotels in the world, so one might have to settle for that if they still wish for a guaranteed redemption without worrying about planning your trip around a hotel redemption.
Most Category 6 hotels are still very nice though, and would most likely cost more than the effective annual fee for the Bonvoy Brilliant, and even more so for the Ritz-Carlton Card at peak seasons.
If you really want to maximize the potential of 85K FNC’s belonging to Category 8 or 9, then you’d have to plan your trip around that redemption and look ahead months in advance for better chances.
Here’s the list for the hotels you can redeem 85K FNC’s on in Latin America:
Antigua & Barbuda
- Royalton CHIC Antigua, an Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort – Adults Only (Cat 8)
- Royalton Antigua, an Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort (Cat 8)
Aruba
- Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort (Cat 6)
- Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino (Cat 7) [Max Pts: 102k/night]
- Ritz-Carlton, Aruba (Cat 8)
- St. Regis Aruba (Cat 8)
Bahamas
- French Leave Resort, Autograph Collection (Cat 8)
Barbados
- Waves Hotel & Spa by Elegant Hotels -All-Inclusive (Cat 8)
- The House by Elegant Hotels -All-Inclusive (Cat 8)
- Crystal Cove by Elegant Hotels -All-Inclusive (Cat 8)
- Tamarind by Elegant Hotels -All-Inclusive (Cat 8)
Belize
- Alaia Belize, Autograph Collection (Cat 6)
Bermuda
- St. Regis Bermuda (Cat 8)
Cayman Islands
- Grand Cayman Marriott Resort (Cat 7)
- Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa (Cat 8)
- Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman (Cat 9)
Chile
- Ritz-Carlton, Santiago (Cat 6)
Costa Rica
- Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort (Cat 6)
- JW Marriott Guanacoste Resort & Spa (Cat 6)
- El Mangroove, Autograph Collection (Cat 6)
- Punta Islita, Autograph Collection (Cat 6)
- Planet Hollywood Costa Rica, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort (Cat 7)
- W Costa Rica – Reserva Conchal (Cat 7)
- Westin Reserva Conchal, an All-Inclusive Golf Resort & Spa (Cat 8)
Dominican Republic
- Westin Puntacana Resort & Club (Cat 6)
- Royalton Chic Punta Cana, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort & Casino – Adults Only (Cat 7)
- Royalton Bavaro, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort & Casino (Cat 7)
- Royalton Splash Punta Cana, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort & Casino (Cat 7)
- Royalton Punta Cana, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort & Casino (Cat 7)
- Hideaway At Royalton Punta Cana, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort & Casino – Adults Only (Cat 7)
- The Ocean Club, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Norte (Cat 8)
- Sanctuary Cap Cana, a Luxury Collection Adult All-Inclusive Resort, Dominican Republic (Cat 8)
Grenada
- Laluna, Grenada, a Member of Design Hotels (Cat 7)
- Royalton Grenada, an Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort (Cat 8)
Jamaica
- Hideaway At Royalton Blue Waters, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive – Adults Only (Cat 7)
- Royalton Blue Waters Montego Bay, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort (Cat 7)
- Royalton Negril, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort (Cat 7)
- Hideaway at Royalton Negril, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive – Adults Only (Cat 7)
- Grand Lido Negril Au-Naturel, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive – Adults Only (Cat 8)
Mexico
- Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa (Cat 6)
- Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas & Spa, Cancun (Cat 6)
- JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa (Cat 6)
- JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa (Cat 6)
- JW Marriott Hotel Mexico City Polanco (Cat 6)
- St. Regis Mexico City (Cat 6)
- Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City (Cat 7)
- Hacienda del Mar Los Cabos, Autograph Collection (Cat 7)
- W Punta de Mita (Cat 7)
- Marriott Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort (Cat 7)
- Casa Maat at JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa (Cat 8)
- St. Regis Punta Mita Resort (Cat 8)
- St. Regis Kanai Resort, Riviera Maya (Cat 9)
- The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai (Cat 9)
Peru
- JW Marriott El Convento Cusco (Cat 6)
- Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Cusco (Cat 6)
- Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Valle Sagrado (Cat 6)
Puerto Rico
- La Concha Renaissance San Juan Resort (Cat 7)
- San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino (Cat 7)
- St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico (Cat 8)
St. James
- Colony Club by Elegant Hotels (Cat 8)
- Treasure Beach by Elegant Hotels – All-Inclusive, Adults Only (Cat 8)
- The House by Elegant Hotels – All-Inclusive, Adults Only (Cat 8)
St. Maarten
- JW Marriott St. Maarten Beach Resort & Spa (Cat 8)
St. Lucia
- Royalton Saint Lucia, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort (Cat 8)
Trinidad & Tobago
- The BRIX, Autograph Collection (Cat 6)
Turks & Caicos
- Salterra, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Turks & Caicos (Cat 9)
- Ritz-Carlton, Turks & Caicos (Cat 9)
US Virgin Islands
- Morningstar Buoy Haus Beach Resort At Frenchman’s Reef, Autograph Collection (Cat 7)
- Westin Beach Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef (Cat 7)
- Westin St. John Resort Villas (Cat 8)
- Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas (Cat 8)
Conclusion
85K Free Night Certificates are quite valuable and can deliver in having you stay at many of the nicest Marriott properties worldwide. It can be worthwhile to collect as many as you could if you really enjoy Marriott’s luxury hotels, and to mitigate you from spending too many points for redemptions as Marriott points are harder to recoup compared to other hotel loyalty programs.
If you find this list useful and are interested in 85K Free Night Certificates signup bonuses when they come, please consider using my referral links below for the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and/or Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (for upgrade path to Ritz-Carlton Card) to help support this site! Thank you very much!